Pantami kicks against FG new tax on calls, data

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has kicked against an attempt by the Federal Government to add a five per cent duty to telecommunication services.

Recall that the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed had last Thursday at a stakeholders’ forum on implementation of excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria revealed the new tax.

Speaking at the event organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ahmed who was represented by the Assistant Chief Officer of the Ministry, Frank Oshanipin, said the five per cent excise duty has been in the Finance Act 2020 but was not implemented.

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“The duty rate was not captured in the Act because it is the responsibility of the president to fix rate on excise duties and he has fixed five per cent for telecommunication services which include GSM.

However, reacting at the exhibition organised by the Nigeria Office for Developing the indigenous Telecom Sector, an agency domiciled in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday, Pantami said the telecom sector already contributes a lot to the Nigerian economy, and adding more taxes could negatively impact its growth.

He urged the government to consider taxing other sectors of the economy that are not contributing to national development.